Rim-demounting wheel for motor-vehicles.



E. K. BAKER.

' HIM DEMDUNTING WHEEL FUR MOTOR VEHICLES.

- APFLICA1:ION men mums. ms. a 7/ 1,282,362. Patented 003, 22,1918.

f I mains-satin.

. tion.

v t ERLE KINWB'AKEB; 0F cmcnso,

mm vc'ns.

To all 'whom it may concern:

'cago C-ook county, Illinois, have invented certa n new .ai1(l,'usefu1 lmprovementsin Rim-Demountin Wheels for MotonVehicles; of which t e following is a specificainvention. relates to denlountable rim constructions for motor vehicle Wheels which are equipped with tires that require chang- ,1 .in%,.from time-to time.

t is theusual practice, to put a pneumatic flatejit'bbfore mounting'the rim on the Wheel of the motor vehicle. In event the tire is in 1 jut-ed or dellalfed, the" i'iiii deii'munted, and i may be postponed.

, The general, objects of invention will be made clear by the following statement of the problems and needs'presentedby the abovedefi'ne'd practice. 7

The construction of a '-pneumatic tire is such that it does not lend itself to ready ad justulent upon a rim or wheel. The rim should be so "made that it will be easy to; attach and detach the tire, and the rind must be eapable of'safely and securely hold iiig the tirflvliether in service on the wheel or being carried as an inflated spare.

-Either the rim construction or the-Wheel construction shouldbe such thatit will beeasy "to 'both' mount and dei'n'ount the rim l with its-tire (\vhether inflated or deflated) andat the same: time provide for the secure and dependable holdingof the rin'r and tire againstmovenientou the wheel during serv ice." The-true circular torui'ot the tire and rim shohlclbe constantly i'najntai'ned. The

the should be held truly perpendicular to. The distortion of either the rim or the tireshould be avoided. The 'c oncen'tiicity of the tire and rim with respect to the .axis of the Wheel should be positively insured and constantly, main: mined.

spond sto the above requirements the stru t'ure cannot-he }'ironouneed safe or desirable,

audit "thecircularity, coucentricity a'nd perpendicularit; of the me are not n'iaintained,

it will be. found that the life of thetire materially shortened. Inaddition to these requirements, i'tflis essential that the con- Specification of Letters Patent. s biicauon med'mmh 25. 1916.,- swarm). 86.599.

Unless the demounting means renIM-nmltoon'rma WHEEL. FOR moron-'vnnzcuis.

. Patented 0611.22, 1918.

UNITED v STATES PATENT OFFICE. u

I ILLIINCIS; assxenoza, BYJIESNE AssmNn'ENrs, 'ro BAKER WHEEL & RIM COMPANY; or cr mson, ILLINOIS, a conronano w or struction shall be of the'least vWeight consistcut with the service to beperformed, and it is commerciallynecessarythat the cost of both manufacture and maintenance shall be low. It is alsorextremel desirable that the construction shall besuc i that the rim may be mounted and demounted'by the operation of a minimumtnumber of parts and in the shortest possible time. a

For use with standard olencher tires which have base beadsthat may be stretched over its flanges, the rim may bed the integrally flanged endless type, and, to that extent, simpler"than'those required for tires having non-stretchable base beads. But in. all other respects, the the matters 0 deinountability, security, nondlstortion, circularity; concentricity and perpendicularity are of equal importance as to' all tires. l V

The specific object ofmyinvention is to provide a rim 'demolilnting wheel construction which shall be ap licable to rims tandtires of all typesand vhich shallprovide problem remains the same; for

"the complete solution of all of the above stated problems.

The gtlltflatlllttl'lltt. and principles of my 'ii venlzion, and also the details o'fthe best embodiment thereof that I have thus far devised, will. be readily understood on refer- .ence to the drawings that form part of this specification. and are particularly pointed out-inthe appended claims; Primarily, my

inventionconsists in a wheel which may be contracted to free the rung andfexpanded,

to secure the same in place. The demountable rim used in emu; on ivith this Wheel may be of an klllt ptedto withstand the expanding force of-tlie wheel. By preference. "I. use an endless clencher rim for standard clear-her tires audfliaker typef tinnsplit runs for tireskvliicli haveinextensible baseheads. In said dra side elevatr fully equipped with a transplit rim ant I pneumatic tire; and portionsof the vheel I and rim/being shown in section to disclose the means by whlchthe action of the wheel [a rim demounting wheel. embody ngnjy invention, the same beln spokes is compensated by-the action of the t1 e the latter is con line v-v'o Fig. 1, pmitting' the rim and tire F ig. isa side view, enlarged, from Fig. 1, showing the details of the telly-expanding-and-contracting dev1ce;-Fig; 6 is a section on the line W--W-of Fig; 5 Fig.

' 7 is a sectional plenview diselosin further details of the artsagp'eamn in ig'. '5; Fig. 8 is an enlhrg'ed etail 0 the parts adjacent the valve stem, enlarged from Fi 1, the section being on the line YY of i Meand Fig. 9 is a; lan view frombeneat F ig. 8, the tire'an its valvestem being omitted. Others have preceded me in procuring patents upon wheels of this class, and I do notclaim to be the first to invent a wheel of the variable-circumference type used as the means of mounting and demounting a tire-carrying rim. In itself that idea very old. "But, on the other hand, it ap ears never to have been reduced tea, form a mittin of its practical use. This apglication dea so with an improvement by W ichthe clearly apparent merits and advantages of everysuch wheel the folly is contracted toreduce its circumference and'thus free the;

-s'fich a Structure are made available. In

der'nounta'ble rim. 1 In the pastevery arrangement ofspokes anclfelly which has permitted the contraction of the telly has left the spokeslloose uponthe-expansion of the felly within .;the,rim. As-known to. every wheelwright a- 'wheelin ;whichfthe,

spokes 'arel'loo'se; cannot safely be lised and. this is espec ally true in the case of power-. ful, fast-moving motor vehicles. The "use of manually adjustuble-tight'enin devices between the' .spckes;jcnd telly has fln suggested as}; means ofcompensatin for the shortness-of'the spokeswhen the 'fely is ex panded but if] anything of the kind were to be used,- it would be preferable to; make the wheel felly and its fixed rim iii-{the ordinary endless-form and teplace the. adjust;- ing devices between the wheel periphery and the rim 'br',- to-ma ke the rim itself expansi'ble and contrnctib'le. "Bothexpedients havelbeen used inthe ast. I The speciu'lpurpose of'the present'invention is to avoid all-such expedi ents and rresultingcomplications by -p'roviding a wheel. uponwhich' the riin-niay "be' di may. mounted and which shall-bk of such construction that it shall, withinitgtelfifautomutually compensate for the hm es of 'c'l-rcumference in" the wheel felly, an ,Ewhereby a single adjusting device shall be. made to take the place of the-many'fagljusiments re-- quirecl in the demountable rim con. tructionsa' previously nvented. (30:

' Referringjagam to the drawings, it will be seen that the complete structnrecomprises 3, and its fined r m, 4,' a telly xpander, 51-41 demountable rim. 6,.anr l :i'tire o1:- shoe, 7.

When the'wheel and rim are assembled, as shown, the rim, and the tire which it carries, are concentric with the axis of the wheel hub; and alsoj'in a plane perpendicular to saidax'is- Obviously, the circular form of the wheel is directly imparted to {the rimand the'tire, r The rim,'6,"m,ay be of any desired re Section as. e re explained, accpndglfigdtb the cross-section of i' lt be used there-i on. I hav'e shown an integrally-flanged straightsside' rim, ofthe Baker? type most popular at the pres'enttinie.

As indicated by the line, 6!, in Fig.- 9, the rim is tra'nsplitf' so that it may be'put into'and-taken out of a'pneumetic tire which has inextensible base 1 heads, typically represented in Figs. 2' and 3, in which 8, 8, are'base beads renderedinextensible by intermolded endless cables, 9.- -When the-rim is of the Baker type, the valve stem, "10, of theitire is positioned a'djecent the transversesplit, 6.

The valve stem is 'accommodatedby a ho1e, 1 1, in ,the

fixed rim and telly, ,Whethe1' the rim is endless or tran'split,'l1. provide a, driving connection between thei'n'ner periphery, 12, of the demountable rim, and the outer periphtf ery,,13,'ofthe fixed riini This driving coin;

.nection-preferably tal res the form of two inwardlyextending studs, 14, 14, riveted in the demountable -rim -.and extending into sockets, 1 5, in the fixed rim, 4, and jelly; 3'.

These driving studs Fare placed Marthe,-

valve stem hole, 6, iii the rim; and in'the (case, ofa; 'transp lit rim therejis one said stud on eachjrnnend, 6", 6 and inthat case they c'oact with theembraced portion of-the fixed r m, 4, to positively, thoughdetach? ably, connect olj'tie them 'together, so that the rim, 6, shall not be distended by the expanding force of the wheel on which it is positioned, -Tl le{. valve stem, 10, and the driv nglstuds, 14, in coaction with the fixed run pew} the and the-wheel wh n the rim 1s, hem buttoned .upon, and unbuttoned from", t e wheel: a

vid'el'a; temporary-hinge or pivot I have first the ='d'etails of the rimj opstruction in order that" it may be understood that'inmounting and dcmount-- ing-the lrim the user throughjt-h :s'ame operations asfiinith'e casev of the or in'ary Continental wheelv ,g nd rim structure. But, as about to" belexplai nemtheactual Yip-e 5 erirtionpf'fusteningthe rim on :the'wheel is greatly simplified when the wheel is of the form herein shown and described.

1 It' -will be understood. that the rim' can be neither mounted nor l'emounted fromthe a wheel until the-latter 1's sufliciently reduced in clrcumference'tojperniit the rim to be swung or buttoned into position with the valve stem as-the pivot point. It .will be. obvious theta sn'iallerreduction of the-ens. .cur'nferenrc of the wheel would be .sltfiici'ent y if the valve to permit the rim ally from the tire; but

sider them-in this case.

ill

stop flange, 17,-:which faces region of thevalvc stein,

The fixcd rim, the wooden felly, tire bolts or rivets,

4:, is preferably secured to 3, by means of the usual 16. It is formed to receive and fit the inner periphery, 12, of thedemountable rim; that 18, the fixed rim is mainly cylindrical. The miter edge of the fixed rim is turned inwardly and forms a. the outer side of the wooden telly, 3. The. fixed rim is preferably of greater width thanthe felly,

3, and overhangs the inner side thereof. Its overhangingportion, 18, is provided with an outwardly turned flange, which forms an annular stoli'orfix'ed rib. 19, against which the demounta lole rim, (3, is placed. 'In the 10, I prefer to bend the portion, 18, inwardly. and thus reduce the effective width of the fixedrim at that point. This ng'irrowed formation is shown in Fig. 2; and? by means thereof'the rim,(i,. is allowed to button on'-to the wheel with less clearance between theriin and wheel at the point diametrically opposite the, valve stem. The fixed rim is from relatively thin sheet steel. and. by providing it with the flanges, .17, 18, and 19, I .make, it .stron enough to resist thestreteh ing force of .t.

In addition to the,stop rib. 19,'o1- as a substitute therefor, I may provide the rim 6. with inwardly prrnecting stop lugs, 20,

as shown in Figs. 1, and 3; Two of these.

studs placed in120-degree positions with rcspcctto thevalve stem, 10, are Sllfl'lclkllt;

but their nui nbeiymay be increased at will. I prefer to form the'sfilds; 20*,"by punching jand shea "net the body of the rim adjacent the flange the'reof, fa's shown in F g. 3. As.

between the two stops, 'lflfan' d. 20,1 prefer the annular rib, 19, particularly as by discarding thelu'gs, 20, the rim, B, may be put on either side to the wheel. :1: a. is made reversible on the wheel.

. As a rule" the folly, 3, is made in two halves, the ends of which'meet at the valve- .tem hole, 11. v Tohold 'jtlllllfllllellb and protect ay a conical bushing, .st'ein hole, 11. This bushing is inserted and is rolled orflanged over the abutting ends in 11. in the valve than its inner'end v the saddle plate, 11". as best shown in Fig. '8.

The opposite ends of abutn'icut with projections. the ends of the fixed rim. 14. They may be held in that relation by cross rivets. The adjacent projections, 21, form the telly gap rnn ends are drawn rim are forced apart at preferably rolled i panding e expander device,- 5, when the latter is used 'to contract the telly.

the end-wood, I elm-'- the felly are in 21. formed on;

movement between the same and the screw as the expander is .9 stated. By thiscon struction -the expan eris allowed to actwithout binding the'screw threads. as would be the case if thescrews were threaded dii rectly into the projection or lugs. 21.

It will now be understood that the fixed rim and the woodenfelly are fastened together and in any case must move together when the expander-is operated. By turning the expander in one direction the fixed together and obviously the circhmferenceof the wheel is thus so 1 reduced that the rim, 6', may freely be On the turning of the expander screw; 5, in the other direction the ends of ihe fixed the fell) gap, Obviously, at such time the periphery of the :wheel is forced oiitivirrdand strongly into engagement with the inner periphery of the rim, and thereby the rim is firmly seated and held'on the. wheel. It shouldbe mounted onor demounted from. the wheel.

understood that the. construction of the ex w and contracting device may be varied at the will of the designer, and; while the particular device here shown is novel, my invention isnot restricted thereto.

The structural details thus far ('lescribed are admirable as far as concerns the duties to be performed by the several parts; but I must frankly state that a wheel constructed as above set forth would not be a practical article, nor of any great merit, except for the presence of the further featurewhich I shall now describe.

As inwheels of ordinary construction. the

holes or mortises. ii". in the wooden felly, Each spoke, "2. has an abut- 'ment' shoulder, 2". which presses against the" inner periphery,

direction of their respecti v o capable -of exert telly when outer ends, 2. of'th'e spokes, are tenons, which snugly fitward toward the wheel center as must always he the case when the telly is contracted by means, such as the device, 5. In the pash the only way in which the telly has been allowed to move inwardly at. suchtiine has been to cut back theshoulders. Q'Lof the spokes; orto depend upon the buryingm tions, and substitutions may be made in the structure herein illustrated, without; departing from the s irit and scope of my invention as set fort in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire 'to secure by Letters Patent H 1. The herein described improvement that consists in a variable circumference compression-spoke wheel having compensating spaces between its felly and fixed rim at the ends of several spokes, said fixed rim containing a gap at one place in combination with an. expander provided in the gap of said" fixed wheel, and a demountable tireholding-rim on said wheeL'said rim being secured upon said fixed rim by the expansion' thereof and being freed by the. contraction of said fixed'rlm. g

2. The improvement herein described com prising a Wheel felly and fixed rim, containing a transverse gap, in combination with an expander for opening and closing said gap, radial spokes whereon said 'felly is fixed and said felly being slabbed at the ends of said spokes to'provide compensating spaces between theUfellyand saidrim. y

3. The improvement herein described coinprising a variable circumference wheel composed of a felly, in combination with a fixed rim thereon, said rim being wider than the felly and having an'annular rib at its inner edge which isbent inwardly adjacent to the valve stem position, to narrow the fixed rim at that point, as and for the purpose specified. a

4. The improvement herein described com prising a rim delnounting wheel containing an expander gap andhaving a valve stem' hole in. its-fixed rim and telly-diametrically opposite said gap, in;'cofiib1nation with a tapered bushing 11') said hole, and a saddle plate secured on the folly by the-flanging of the small end of said bushing. p

5. In a yariabIe circumference wheel the combination'of opposed fixed rim ends, eontaining cyl ndrical transverse bores, with cyspokes.

sea 6 lindrical nuts rotatable in said bores, and an expanding screw having its ends held in said nuts.

6. The improvement herein described in rim demountin wheels, comprising radial spokes, in com ination with a felly on the ends thereof, a fixed rim exerting pressure on said fellK and said felly being formed toreceive t e compression of said rim at points between the spokes and bein relieved therefrom at the ends of the spo es, substantially as and for the purposes described.

7. The herein described improvement in compression-spoke wheels, that consists in providing the fixed rim with bearings upon the felly at points between the spokes, and with none at the ends of the spokes, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. The improvement in variable-circum- -ference, rim-deinounting wheels, that consists in compensating spaces between the fixed rim and the'felly, at the ends of the spokes.

9. A Wheel comprising spokes radiating from a center, in combination with a felly encircling the spokes and with which the ends of the spokes are in abutment, a fixed rim mounted on said felly and in pressure-1 contact therewith at points between the spoke ends, and the felly being inwardly offset from the fixed rim at the spoke. ends,

whereby theseveral parts of the telly are made to perform the office of take up springs between the fixed rim and the spokes.

10. The improvement herein described comprising a wheel having a cylindrical fixed rim formed to receive and hold a demountable rim, in combination with a felly which carries said fixed rim, a hub, spokes supporting said felly on said hub, and the outer peri hery of said felly being cut away beneath t e fixed rim at the ends of the In testimony whereof, I have hereunto setmy hand this 18th day of March, 1916.

ERLE KING BAKER. I 

